Apple's Disappointed Fans?

Many people were expecting an “iPhone 5” from Apple Inc. on Tuesday, and all they got was an iPhone 4S. Before you retire and, as King David once wrote, “drench [your] couch with tears,” (Psalms 6:6, NIV), consider all the good stuff announced today:

• a new iPhone 4S that goes up to 64 GB in storage• the faster, dual-core processor for said iPhone 4S• availability on Sprint’s network, along with AT&T and Verizon• much better photography and video promised

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The question will be whether, and how well, Apple delivers on the items they’re promising. But Apple has rarely disappointed in past years, so hope might be a good strategy here.

The day’s big winner? In my view, it’s Sprint/Nextel, which desperately needs the iPhone to stay competitive in the mobile phone race. The day’s other big winner: end users of Apple’s present iOS products — the current iPhones, iPod Touch and iPad devices. Many of the improvements planned for the iPhone 4S will be available on older models, which extends their usefulness, protects users’ investments, and makes for a happy Apple user community.